Complaint Review: Rebath

DO NOT REPEAT MY MISTAKE. I signed a contract with Rebath to remodel my bathroom at a cost of $17,100 on June 9. At that time, the salesman assured me that Rebath brings a large crew of 7 to 10 people and finish the job in 5 days. They started their work on August 14 and today on September 19, I still cannot use my bathroom and it is not clear when will they finish. They charged me $8500 upfront, while according to the California regulation they cannot charge their consumers more than $1000 before the completion of work (I did not know this fact at the time I signed my contract). If you are thinking about hiring Rebath,my advice to you is DON’T. The following is a list of problems I encountered and from the reviews I read, my problems are not unique:

(1)    Breach of Contract – The scope of my contract included tearing out the wall and making any necessary repair before installing Durabath material. This part of the contract was worth $7500. I was very worried about the condition of thinning copper pipes and potential wood rot in the shower. So, I thought $7500 was worth the work. However, to my surprise their installer did not touch the tiles and glued pieces of thin plastic they call Durabath on the existing tiles. They have come up with a new creative reinterpretation of the pre-printed contract. As it was explained to me by their salesman, I read the contract to say that they will tearout the wall and make any necessay repairs. However, now that they have the money they read to say they will tearout the wall if repairs are necessary.

(2)    Code Violation – By not removing existing tiles and gluing the sheets of plastic directly over the existing tiles, Rebath made my small bath much smaller.  According to the California regulation, the opening to the shower must be large enough when a door is installed the enclosure must have a clear opening of 22 inches. My bathroom opening without the door is only 22.5 inches and once they install the door, it will be much smaller than the code requirements.

(3)    Negative effect on the home resale value – I had no idea that my city requires a permit for bathroom remodeling. The Rebath which is a licensed contractor is supposed to inform its customers of the local regulations. They don’t. The remodeling work they performed on my bathroom was without any permit. This will certainly negatively affect the resale value of my home.

(4)    Misrepresentation – When I signed the contract I told the salesman that I want the new vanity to be of solid wood. I explained in clear terms that due to wet and humid environment of the bathroom, I do not want a vanity that has particle board in its construction. He agreed and stated in no uncertain terms that “no one in his right mind would install a vanity made with particle boards”. He showed me a catalog that showed the doors to be of solid wood. I thought this meant the vanity was of solid wood. When they brought the vanity everything else other than the doors were of particle board. I am still fighting with them to get the right vanity in my bathroom.

(5)    Poor Workmanship – The Rebath work is plagued with poor workmanship. (1) The new flooring has a missing 2X4 inch section where they are supposed to install the vanity. (2) In the closet, the vertical shelf that was supported by the floor before the new flooring, now is hanging from the wall. The Rebath did not even think to shim the gap. (3) The caulking used by the installer in the shower is substandard and unprofessional……